Exploring the Intersection of Efficiency and Librarianship

Making Use of Weird Windows of Time

Many time management systems instruct people to set up priorities. The catch is that our top priorities may take longer than the small spaces of time that open up to us during the day. In his most recent blog post, David Allen discusses how to most effectively use the weird windows of opportunity we have every day to get things done.

“Most everyone I come across in my clients’ organizations are up to their eyeballs in work, and feel overwhelmed. Strategy and triage are indeed required to address that, but at least as important is the requirement for people to set up their lives to get a lot more efficient about getting a lot more done in a day.

To steal from a Motorola strategy from many years ago, we need to “mine the bandwidth.” They developed technology utilizing the more discreet areas “between the lines” in the radio frequencies already in place. Similarly we need to be ready for, and take advantage of, the weird uneven time and energy spaces we find ourselves in.”